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Floor Stenciling
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Published: October 17, 2006
Once recognized as a lost art, hardwood floors have become a common adornment in many homes. Accented with paints, stains and tints applied inside stenciled designs, hardwood floors have become a representation of beauty. In just a few simple steps, you can adorn your own hardwood floor with either a customized stencil design or a pre-cut pattern.
As the perfect way to decorate a floor without the wasted hassle of carpeting, floor stenciling allows you to create your own masterpiece in just a few simple steps. Whether you want to create a design imitating a carpet or you just want to cover certain problem areas on the floor, this technique allows you to use your imagination put some life back into your hardwood floor.
Necessary Tools and Materials
From paint stripper, rubber gloves, soft cloths and colored pencils to graph paper, stencil adhesive, a tape measure and a yardstick, a variety of items are needed to help ensure your floor stenciling project results in its desired outcome.
Stencil Designs
Due to the wide selection of images, designs and objects depicted in a floor design, one of the biggest challenges involved with floor stenciling is choosing the right stencil. You can create a hand-made pattern to adorn a truly customized floor, or you can have a distinctive floor creation by choosing from a variety of factory-made designs. No matter which type of stencil you choose, make sure you procure extra copies if you plan to use the design more than once. This will allow you to work on several sections at a time.
Stencil design options include (but are not limited to) patterns representing nature, such as trees, water, animals and flowers, and holiday designs for Christmas and Valentine's Day. Most stencil designs can be found at most craft and hardware stores.
Important Tips and Reminders
Like most other projects, there are certain things you must remember before you begin floor stenciling. As long as you follow these few important tips and allow yourself plenty of time to work on your project, your creation is sure to be an enjoyable work of art.
If you are using a specific stencil design more than once, you should begin by cutting tiny holes, or registration marks, near the corners of the design for positioning purposes. Once you have arranged the stencil in its desired location, make a light pencil mark in the registration holes to ensure your patterns are always an equal distance apart.
When painting the stencil, it is best to use either a stencil brush, sponge or foam roller. A stencil brush works best for reducing the chance for paint to seep under the edge of the stencil; a sponge or foam roller are better choices for covering large areas in a short amount of time. Be sure to wipe off any paint that may build-up on the stencil.
Floor Stenciling on a Wood Floor
1. Plan the floor design
• Measure the floor's dimensions
• Use the graph paper and colored pencils to create a floor design with one square on the paper denoting one square foot of the floor
2. Stencil
• In order to ensure your design adheres, you must properly clean your floor to get rid of any dirt, wax or grease
• If you created your own stencil design, transfer the design onto stencil paper; if you are using a pre-cut pattern, copy it onto the stencil paper and cut it out with a craft knife
• Make extra copies if you plan on reusing the stencil
3. Remove finish
• Using paint stripper or a floor sander, remove the old finish from your floor
• Make sure all the previous layers of finish are off before beginning next step
4. Draw chalk lines on the floor
• Follow the pattern on the graph to draw lines on the floor
• Use the T-square and yardstick to make lines parallel or perpendicular to the walls
5. Staining
• Carefully position the stencil on the floor and use stencil adhesive to attach it
• Using blue painter's tape, mark the outside lines of the section to be stained
• Rub the edges of the tape to ensure the stencil is secure
• Wearing rubber gloves and protective clothing, stain the desired area by dipping soft cloths into the stain and rubbing it into the wood
• Remove the tape once the design has dried
• If you have repeating sections, mark off the borders with the blue painters' tape before staining the remaining sections
• Once finished with your floor stenciling project, remember to clean the stencil so it can be used again
6. Finishing
• Once the floor is completely dry, use the painting pad to apply two or three coats of polyurethane
Important: If you chose to stain your design, use a painting pad to apply two or three coats of polyurethane to the finished piece.
Sources:
Boddy-Evans, Marion. How to use Floor Stencils. 8 Oct 2006.
http://painting.about.com/od/stencillingdecorati ve/a/floor_stencils.htm
How to Free-Form Stencil. eHow. 8 Oct 2006.
http://www.ehow.com/how_1604_free-form-stencil.h tml
Welty, Karis. Homeowner Tips: Wood Floor Stenciling. 18 May 2006. Associated Content:
The People's Media Company. 8 Oct 2006.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/33312/h omeowner_tips_wood_floor_stenciling.html
Wood Floor Stenciling. Dicioccio Flooring. 8 Oct 2006.
http://members.cox.net/nickdicioccio/df%20floor% 20stenciling.htm
Related Articles
As the perfect way to decorate a floor without the wasted hassle of carpeting, floor stenciling allows you to create your own masterpiece in just a few simple steps. Whether you want to create a design imitating a carpet or you just want to cover certain problem areas on the floor, this technique allows you to use your imagination put some life back into your hardwood floor.
Necessary Tools and Materials
From paint stripper, rubber gloves, soft cloths and colored pencils to graph paper, stencil adhesive, a tape measure and a yardstick, a variety of items are needed to help ensure your floor stenciling project results in its desired outcome.
Stencil Designs
Due to the wide selection of images, designs and objects depicted in a floor design, one of the biggest challenges involved with floor stenciling is choosing the right stencil. You can create a hand-made pattern to adorn a truly customized floor, or you can have a distinctive floor creation by choosing from a variety of factory-made designs. No matter which type of stencil you choose, make sure you procure extra copies if you plan to use the design more than once. This will allow you to work on several sections at a time.
Stencil design options include (but are not limited to) patterns representing nature, such as trees, water, animals and flowers, and holiday designs for Christmas and Valentine's Day. Most stencil designs can be found at most craft and hardware stores.
Important Tips and Reminders
Like most other projects, there are certain things you must remember before you begin floor stenciling. As long as you follow these few important tips and allow yourself plenty of time to work on your project, your creation is sure to be an enjoyable work of art.
If you are using a specific stencil design more than once, you should begin by cutting tiny holes, or registration marks, near the corners of the design for positioning purposes. Once you have arranged the stencil in its desired location, make a light pencil mark in the registration holes to ensure your patterns are always an equal distance apart.
When painting the stencil, it is best to use either a stencil brush, sponge or foam roller. A stencil brush works best for reducing the chance for paint to seep under the edge of the stencil; a sponge or foam roller are better choices for covering large areas in a short amount of time. Be sure to wipe off any paint that may build-up on the stencil.
Floor Stenciling on a Wood Floor
1. Plan the floor design
• Measure the floor's dimensions
• Use the graph paper and colored pencils to create a floor design with one square on the paper denoting one square foot of the floor
2. Stencil
• In order to ensure your design adheres, you must properly clean your floor to get rid of any dirt, wax or grease
• If you created your own stencil design, transfer the design onto stencil paper; if you are using a pre-cut pattern, copy it onto the stencil paper and cut it out with a craft knife
• Make extra copies if you plan on reusing the stencil
3. Remove finish
• Using paint stripper or a floor sander, remove the old finish from your floor
• Make sure all the previous layers of finish are off before beginning next step
4. Draw chalk lines on the floor
• Follow the pattern on the graph to draw lines on the floor
• Use the T-square and yardstick to make lines parallel or perpendicular to the walls
5. Staining
• Carefully position the stencil on the floor and use stencil adhesive to attach it
• Using blue painter's tape, mark the outside lines of the section to be stained
• Rub the edges of the tape to ensure the stencil is secure
• Wearing rubber gloves and protective clothing, stain the desired area by dipping soft cloths into the stain and rubbing it into the wood
• Remove the tape once the design has dried
• If you have repeating sections, mark off the borders with the blue painters' tape before staining the remaining sections
• Once finished with your floor stenciling project, remember to clean the stencil so it can be used again
6. Finishing
• Once the floor is completely dry, use the painting pad to apply two or three coats of polyurethane
Important: If you chose to stain your design, use a painting pad to apply two or three coats of polyurethane to the finished piece.
Sources:
Boddy-Evans, Marion. How to use Floor Stencils. 8 Oct 2006.
http://painting.about.com/od/stencillingdecorati ve/a/floor_stencils.htm
How to Free-Form Stencil. eHow. 8 Oct 2006.
http://www.ehow.com/how_1604_free-form-stencil.h tml
Welty, Karis. Homeowner Tips: Wood Floor Stenciling. 18 May 2006. Associated Content:
The People's Media Company. 8 Oct 2006.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/33312/h omeowner_tips_wood_floor_stenciling.html
Wood Floor Stenciling. Dicioccio Flooring. 8 Oct 2006.
http://members.cox.net/nickdicioccio/df%20floor% 20stenciling.htm
